Upcycling: The art of creating objects of utility or beauty from discarded junk

What is Upcycling?

It takes a special vision to look at a pile of discards and see potential beauty and utility. Today, the practice is called upcycling, but Allan has been using junk are raw materials for his artwork for decades.

Upcycling isn't a new concept. During lean times, families have often creatively reused discards, from making clothing out of flour sacks to furniture from packing crates.

Today, the impetus to upcycle might just as easily come from the creative challenge of finding beauty in otherwise useless trash or from a desire to positively impact the environment by giving new life to items destined for landfills.

Allan's artwork was initially sparked from a strong need to express his creative impulse coupled with the raw materials he had available on hand. Since then, he has delighted in the challenge of bringing out an object's hidden beauty and usefullness.